Tuesday, July 3, 2012

July Guest - Paolo Rivera!

1) What was your first published work?
It would have been a Foot Soldiers back cover, but the issues were scrapped because of a trademark issue. My first Marvel work was an Iron Man #63 cover, but the first thing they published was a Doctor Doom story by Christopher Priest in Double-Shot #2.

2) Who or what inspires you?
Just about everything. Life in general. Comics in particular. Beyond that, I devour podcasts, books, movies, and TV. Stories in any form, basically.

3) What would be your dream job to illustrate?
Honestly, all my dreams have come true, so I'm working on some new ones. My next dream is to write and illustrate my own original story.

4) Tell us a bit about the illustration(s) you've sent?
This cover was part of Marvel's 70th anniversary, and was directly inspired by the great Alex Schomburg. I'd really love to do more covers like this. People often say my style is "old-school," but to me, that's just how I paint. This painting allowed me to cut loose and paint exactly what I wanted to.

5) What can we expect to see from you next (what are you working on)?
I'm working on the 4th of 4 new Daredevil covers, all of which revolve around a new villain that I designed—something I've never done for Marvel before.

6) If you hadn't become an artist what do you think you'd have ended up doing?
Probably some kind of scientist. I love physics and biology, but for me, it's really all the same thing—it's division of labor, not subject. There's still time for me to become a theoretical physicist.

7) Where can we see more of your work (web links)?
My blog, updated weekly, is PaoloRivera.com. I promote upcoming projects, post embarrassing photos, and talk a lot of shop.